10 



THE FLORAL WORLD 



FROM SOUTHERN ARIZONA 



Knowing that failures as well as 

 successes are instructive, I will write 

 of my garden, as the conditions pre- 

 vailing make failures common. It is 

 fifty feet square, and contains ten 

 trees of good size, so that constant en- 

 riching of the soil is a necessity. The 

 air is so dry and the rains are so in- 

 frequent that an almost daily use of 

 the hose is an absolute necessity also. 



The treatment of bulbs and the re- 

 sults here in southern Arizona are, 

 perhaps, different from their care and 

 growth in the North, and' my experi- 

 ence may possibly help others, as 

 every article on the subject deals with 

 their care in places of lower temper- 

 ature and more moisture than this. 



Gladioli cannot compare with those 

 North. I have tried them in sunshi-ie 

 and shade, and find the flowers rather 

 inferior — just as bright in color, per- 

 haps^ but I think the heat opens the 

 buds too quickly. Hyacinths do very 

 well. I plant in October, not more 

 than three inches deep, and they 

 bloom in February. The small bulbs 

 bloom year after year, but are hardly 

 so large as at first. Tulips are fail- 

 ures. I have never seen here a tulip 

 stem longer than four inches, and very 

 few of the flowers have any color. 

 Out of two dozen of the bulbs most of 

 the flowers were the same green color 

 as the leaves, and only half opened. 

 The only one that had color had a stem 

 one inch long, too short for even a 

 buttonhole bouquet. They were next 

 to the hyacinths, and received the 

 same care. 



I have had freesias in the house 

 that were very beautiful to me, as 

 they were the first I had ever seen, 

 but after seeing some that came from 

 California, I realized how much larger 

 they might have been. Lilies-of-the- 

 valley have done well for me in the 

 house by planting half a. dozen in a 

 deep pot, as I find the roots are the 

 larger part of the plant. 



Easter lilies and callas do extreme- 

 ly well either in the house or in open 

 ground by protecting the callas on 

 very cold nights. Mine bloomed out- 

 of-doors last winter. The narcissus 

 does well also, and the bulbs multiply 

 very rapidly. This is the paradise of 

 the tuberose. T had a bed of them ten 

 feet in diameter containing three rows, 

 and the third year after planting, the 

 bulbs having been undisturbed, I cut 

 550 beautiful stalks of that beautiful 

 flower. 



This year I have put up a small 

 greenhouse for pleasure and experi- 

 ment. The temperature with door and 

 ventilators open reached 120 degrees 

 many August days, but I can keep the 

 air damp, which is what I want. I may 

 have some interesting experiences to 

 relate later in regard to it, but will 

 leave that till another time. 



Mes. Thos. D. Sattekwhite. 



Arizona. 



FLOWERS FOR THE HOLIDAYS 



Who does not love to have a bright 

 window of flowers at the Christmas 

 holidays or Easter? To make a win- 

 dow attractive it is necessary to use 

 some care in the selection and ar- 

 rangement of varieties, and also to 

 have the plants clean and healthy. If 

 it is convenient to have a window box 

 it may be made a source of continual 

 pleasure. A point necessary in the 

 culture of plants, if you would have 

 them healthy, is good drainage. This 

 may easily be obtained in a window 

 box. In one end of the box bore a 

 hole of moderate size to carry off all 

 superfluous water. Under this may be 

 placed a cup, or better, a fruit jar. 

 Slope the box very slightly so that 

 the water will drain toward the hole. 

 Put in a layer of broken bricks and 

 fill the box with soil suitable for the 

 plants. 



For a mixed window box the follow- 

 ing suggestions may prove useful. 

 Have a row of coleus at the back, i. e., 



